Data Engineer (AI & Automation)

ISI Enterprises; Reston (VA); Remote; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work

Medical, Dental, Vision insurance

401K with match

PTO & holidays

Job summary

IsI Enterprises is seeking a Data Engineer to join the AI & Automation team. Build data foundations powering AI-driven automation across Security Control, Managed Services, and MSS; own Snowflake data platform and AWS infrastructure.

Work with AI Solutions Architect and AI Software Engineer to prepare data for LLM and automation use cases, including retrieval pipelines, embeddings, and vector stores. Emphasizes security-first data practices and compliant data flows.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience designing, building, and operating data pipelines in production.
• Strong proficiency in SQL and Python.
• Experience with PostgreSQL.
• Hands-on experience with Snowflake data modeling, RBAC, masking, and cost optimization.
• Experience designing, deploying, and operating AWS infra (S3, Lambda, ECS, IAM, VPC).
• Hands-on with Terraform for IaC.
• Experience with Airflow/Dagster/Prefect and dbt.
• Experience integrating REST APIs and SaaS platforms.
• Experience using AI tooling for enterprise software.
• Git and CI/CD practices.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable batch and streaming pipelines.
• Model data in Snowflake across raw, curated, and consumption layers.
• Administer Snowflake and AWS infra using Terraform; monitor cost.
• Prepare data for LLM/automation use cases and embeddings.
• Embed security/ governance: encryption, least privilege, audit logs.
• Collaborate with stakeholders; write data dictionaries and diagrams; participate in agile ceremonies.

Skills

SQL

Python

Snowflake

AWS

Terraform

Airflow

dbt

Security compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Data Eng

Tools

Git

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenSearch

Job description

About the Role

IsI Enterprises is seeking a Data Engineer to join our new AI & Automation team. You will build the data foundation that powers AI-driven automation across our Security Control, Managed Services, and Managed Security Services business units. Working alongside the AI Solutions Architect and AI Software Engineer, you will own and evolve our Snowflake data platform and the AWS infrastructure around it, designing the pipelines and models that turn fragmented operational data (ticketing, compliance, telemetry, documentation) into trusted, secure, AI-ready datasets.

Because we serve Defense Industrial Base customers, you will treat security and data governance as first-class requirements, not afterthoughts.

Key Responsibilities

Data Pipeline Development

Design, build, and maintain scalable batch and streaming pipelines that ingest data from internal platforms, SaaS tools, cloud environments, and customer systems. Build reliable ETL/ELT processes with automated testing, validation, and monitoring. Model data in Snowflake (raw, curated, and consumption layers) so it is consistent, documented, and reusable across business units.

Snowflake Platform & AWS Infrastructure

Administer and optimize the Snowflake platform, including warehouses, roles and role-based access control, masking and data protection policies, network policies, scheduled tasks, and cost monitoring. Design, deploy, and maintain the supporting AWS infrastructure (e.g., S3, Lambda, ECS, IAM, networking, and secrets management) using Terraform as infrastructure as code. Integrate Snowflake and AWS logging with security monitoring tools such as Microsoft Sentinel.

AI & Automation Enablement

Partner with the AI Solutions Architect and AI Software Engineer to prepare data for LLM and automation use cases, including retrieval pipelines (RAG), embeddings and vector stores, and structured feature sets. Build the integrations that let AI-driven workflows read from and write back to operational systems. Support evaluation and observability of AI workflows through logging and quality metrics.

Security-First Data Engineering

Embed secure data practices into every pipeline, including encryption in transit and at rest, least-privilege access, secrets management, data classification, and audit logging. Enforce data segregation and handling requirements for sensitive and controlled information (e.g., CUI). Support CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, and related compliance obligations through documented, auditable data flows.

Data Quality, Reliability, and Operations

Monitor pipeline health, performance, and cost in production, and remediate failures quickly. Implement data quality checks, lineage, and alerting. Optimize storage and compute for performance and cost efficiency.

Collaboration and Process

Work with business unit stakeholders to understand operational problems and translate them into data requirements. Contribute through pull requests, code reviews, and agile ceremonies. Write clear technical documentation, including data dictionaries and architecture diagrams, and be prepared to defend design choices to the team. Leverage AI tooling to accelerate development and delivery.

Qualifications

• As part of your work at ISI, you will potentially have access to sensitive information from the federal government. Pursuant to applicable regulations, ISI requires that all candidates for this role present proof of U.S. citizenship before hire.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret clearance
• 4+ years of experience designing, building, and operating data pipelines in production
• Strong proficiency in SQL and Python
• Experience with relational databases, specifically PostgreSQL
• Hands-on experience with Snowflake, including data modeling, RBAC, masking policies, and performance and cost optimization
• Experience designing, deploying, and operating AWS infrastructure (e.g., S3, Lambda, ECS, IAM, VPC networking)
• Hands-on experience with Terraform for infrastructure as code
• Experience with workflow orchestration (e.g., Airflow, Dagster, Prefect) and transformation tooling (e.g., dbt)
• Experience building integrations with REST APIs and third-party SaaS platforms
• Experience using AI tooling such as Claude, Codex, or an equivalent service to develop enterprise software
• Familiarity with version control (Git) and CI/CD practices
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills with keen attention to detail
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced Agile environment
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact effectively with team members at all levels

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, data engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent work or military experience
• Experience preparing data for LLM applications, including RAG pipelines, embeddings, and vector databases (e.g., pgvector, OpenSearch, Pinecone)
• Experience with AWS data services such as Glue, Athena, RDS, and Kinesis, and with AWS GovCloud
• Experience with Snowflake features such as Snowpark, Cortex, scheduled tasks, and Snowflake-to-SIEM log integration
• Experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and CI/CD for infrastructure deployments
• Experience with streaming technologies (e.g., Kafka, Kinesis)
• Familiarity with data governance, lineage, and cataloging practices
• Familiarity with security frameworks and compliance requirements such as CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, DFARS, or FedRAMP
• Experience working with data from security, IT service management, or MSP tooling (e.g., SIEM, ticketing, PSA/RMM platforms)

What We Offer

• $130,000–$150,000 annual salary range
• Remote work
• A casual, friendly, and relaxed work environment
• Professional growth encouragement and support
• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance with FSA and HSA options
• PTO, 11 Paid Holidays, Paid Parental & Military Leave, and more
• Life & Disability Insurance
• 401K with match

Industrial Security Integrators, LLC ("IsI") is an equal opportunity employer committed to affirmative action and diversity in the workplace. It is the policy of IsI to provide Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) to Employees and Applicants, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, citizenship status, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status or disability or any other factor protected by law and to provide advancement opportunities for minorities, women, disabled individuals, and veterans. IsI is stronger and more effective when our workforce includes highly qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds, cultures, and traditions.